5 Effective Software Tester Skills You Should Know

Learning a variety of software tester skills isn’t as difficult as you might think. Today we put together a list of top skills that will be divided into two types: technical skills and soft skills, which employers always look for in their potential candidates.

Note that a software tester job description often includes a preferred degree and years of relevant work experience, familiarity with specific databases, and other technical skills.

Technical Skills

As a software tester, you need technical skills to understand how the system or the technology works. You should use testing tools, to join the testing process, and to write detailed reports.

1. Systems Development Life Cycle

SDLC describes phases to develop software with the best quality and optimized design, from initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application.

Scrum, Lean, and Kanban are some of the most common technologies companies use. By learning them, you can perform better in your work.

A software tester needs to know SDLC. It defines all the tasks involved in planning, creating, testing, and deploying a software (or probably hardware) product.

2. Testing Tools and Technologies

A software tester must have knowledge of testing tools and technologies. Without that, it’s hard for you to land the job, especially if you work in another profession before.

Here are some ways to keep up with technology:

• Follow technology blogs, tech news websites, or IT publications.
• Searching for trends in technology on Google will give you a good start.
• Follow industry leaders on social platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.
• Join tech communities on Reddit, Telegram, Slack, etc.

3. Testing Process

The software testing process involves evaluating software and its components to identify bugs. Two ways to conduct a software testing process are manual testing and automation testing:

• Automation testing: The name tells it all. You’ll use an automation testing tool to undertake the testing process. This helps reduce manual efforts and the time involved in the whole process of software testing.
• Manual testing: In this process, testers use the software like an end-user would and find bugs.

4. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking helps you improve the quality of your thinking in the process of evaluating ideas and deciding on what to test.

Testing is the enactment of critical thinking about software. You call it critical thinking whenever you systematically doubt something that the ‘signs’ tell you is probably true.

5. Communication

No matter who they are, you need excellent communication skills and interpersonal skills to express your view effectively and handle difficult situations.

Testers have to communicate with team members, developers, and other stakeholders. Different projects mean different people with different types of personalities, perspectives, and requirements.